OAH Docket No. 12-2500-15171-2
MPUC Docket No. G-004-/GR-02-1682
STATE OF MINNESOTA
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
FOR THE MINNESOTA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
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In the Matter of a Petition by Great Plains Natural Gas Company, a Division of MDU Resources Group, Inc., for Authority to Increase Natural Gas Rates in Minnesota |
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This matter came on for prehearing conference before Administrative Law Judge Steve M. Mihalchick on December 19, 2002, in the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission’s Small Hearing Room, 121 Seventh Place East, Suite 350, St. Paul, Minnesota.
The following persons appeared at the prehearing conference:
Byron E. Starns and Elizabeth E. Goodpaster, Leonard Street & Deinard, 150 South Fifth Street, Suite 2300, Minneapolis, MN 55402, for Great Plains Natural Gas Co.
Ronald M. Giteck, Assistant Attorney General, 445 Minnesota Street, Suite 1200, St. Paul, MN 55101-2130, for the Office of the Attorney General, Residential and Business Utilities Division.
Ginny Zeller and Thomas C. Vasaly, Assistant Attorneys General, 525 Park Street, Suite 200, St. Paul, MN 55103-2106, for the Department of Commerce.
Gerald Dasinger and Robert Harding, Analysts, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, 350 Metro Square Building, 121 East Seventh Place East, St. Paul, MN 55101 for the Commission staff.
PARTIES
1. The parties to this proceeding named in the Commission's Notice and Order for Hearing of November 19, 2002, are Great Plains and the Department of Commerce. The Office of Attorney General, Residential and Business Utilities Division, moved to intervene as a party at the prehearing conference. The Office of Attorney General is a party by statutory right and the motion was granted.
2. The final date for filing Petitions to Intervene is January 3, 2003. Any person petitioning to intervene after that date may be restricted as to the scope of their participation.
3. Any person allowed to intervene in this proceeding after the date of this Order shall be bound by the terms of this Order.
SCHEDULE
4. The following schedule is established:
a) January 17, 2003: Great Plains supplemental direct testimony filed.
b) February 25, 2003: Direct testimony of other parties filed.
c) March 25, 2003: Rebuttal testimony by all parties filed.
d) April 8, 2003: Surrebuttal testimony by all parties filed.
e) April 10, 2003, 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.: Public hearings by video conference at the following locations:
1) St. Paul, Minnesota
2) Crookston, Minnesota
3) Fergus Falls, Minnesota
4) Marshall, Minnesota
The sites will be announced when confirmed.
f) April 15, 2003, 9:00 a.m., Public Utilities Commission hearing rooms: Evidentiary hearing, which shall continue through April 18, 2003, if necessary.
g) May 14, 2003: Initial briefs by all parties.
h) May 23, 2003: Reply briefs by all parties.
i) June 20, 2003: Administrative Law Judge Report.
FILING OF DOCUMENTS
5. All prefiled testimony and other documents shall be filed with the Administrative Law Judge and served upon the parties in accordance with the schedule above. Filing with the Administrative Law Judge and service upon parties shall be effective upon receipt of a copy by email or other means.
6. All prefiled testimony shall be in question and answer format or other easily understood and easily referenced format.
7. All documents filed, including prefiled testimony, but excluding information requests and responses, shall be filed as follows:
a) Prior to the issuance of the Report of the Administrative Law Judge, the original of all documents shall be delivered or mailed to the Administrative Law Judge and an electronic copy shall be emailed to the Administrative Law Judge.
b) Following the Report of the Administrative Law Judge, the original of all documents shall be filed with the Executive Secretary of the Commission.
c) Email and paper copies of all documents shall be served on the persons listed on the attached service list. The list will be revised as necessary by the Administrative Law Judge. Service shall be made according to the most current service list provided to the parties by the Administrative Law Judge.
d) Proof of service shall be filed with each filed document or within three business days thereafter.
8. One copy of any document or information filed with or supplied to the Commission or the Commission staff shall be served upon every party.
DISCOVERY
9. All requests for information shall be made in writing by regular mail and email to the person from whom the information is sought with a copy of the request mailed and emailed to all parties of record. The party responding to the information request shall provide the information requested to the requesting party within eight business days after receipt of the request. There shall be a continuing obligation to update and supplement information responses. The information need not be supplied to other parties unless specifically requested by a party. Information requests received after 3:00 p.m. on business days or on weekends or State holidays shall be considered to be received on the following business day, except that any U.S. Mail received during business hours shall be considered to be received on the same day.
10. The parties have agreed to a “discovery hiatus” from December 20 – 30, 2002. During that period, discovery may be served, but the response time for discovery served before or during the period shall not run.
11. In the event the information cannot be supplied within the required response time, the responding party shall notify the requesting party as soon as reasonably possible in advance of the deadline of the reasons for not being able to supply the information and to work out a schedule of compliance with the requesting party. All disputes concerning the reasonableness of discovery requests and the timing and sufficiency of responses shall be resolved by the Administrative Law Judge upon motion of a party. Such motion should be made by email notice and a telephone conference among the Administrative Law Judge and affected parties.
12. Parties asked to provide "Confidential Information" may require the requesting party to comply with the terms of the attached Protective Agreement and Order.
13. Further discovery may be had in accordance with Minn. R. 1400.6700 - 1400.6900 insofar as these provisions do not alter the special process for this proceeding established by this Order.
PREFILED TESTIMONY AND ORDER OF TESTIMONY
14. Prefiled direct and rebuttal testimony shall not be bound into the record, but shall be received as exhibits. Prefiled testimony that is amended or that is not offered into the record shall be considered withdrawn and the sponsoring witness may not be cross-examined concerning the withdrawn testimony. Except for cause shown, all revisions or corrections to any prefiled testimony shall be made in writing and served upon the Administrative Law Judge and the parties by facsimile no later than three days prior to commencement of the evidentiary hearing.
15. Except for good cause shown, any new affirmative matter that is not offered in reply to another party's direct or rebuttal evidence shall not be offered in rebuttal or surrebuttal testimony and exhibits. However, the parties may raise in rebuttal or surrebuttal testimony affirmative matters in response to new issues that arise on cross-examination during the course of the evidentiary hearing.
16. The order of testimony in the evidentiary hearing shall be Great Plains, any intervenors, the Office of Attorney General, the Department of Commerce.
17. Each witness shall be allowed ten minutes at the beginning of his or her testimony to summarize and highlight their prefiled testimony and to make minor additions of new information to that testimony.
EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES
18. Parties shall examine and cross-examine witnesses through their attorneys, if they are represented by counsel. Any party not represented by counsel may examine and cross-examine each witness through any one representative chosen by the party.
19. Except for good cause shown, objections by any party relating to the qualifications of a witness or the admissibility of any portion of a witness's prefiled testimony shall be considered waived unless the objecting party states in writing its objection with particularity to the Administrative Law Judge and serves a copy of such objections on the Commission and all other parties prior to commencement of the evidentiary hearing. If an objection is made by a party, the party shall be permitted to lay further foundation for the objection through cross-examination of the witness. Any prefiled testimony which is not objected to shall be admitted during the evidentiary hearings without the necessity of laying foundation for the testimony.
Dated this _23rd_ day of September, 2003
s/Steve M. Mihalchick
STEVE M. MIHALCHICK
Administrative Law Judge